Photos And Review By: Amelia / blushispocket
Artist: Bowling For Soup
Openers: Vandoliers, Less Than Jake
Date: Feb. 15, 2024
Location: The Academy – Manchester, UK
This week American rock band took over Manchester, with two dates. The night started out with the incredible ‘rock, country’ band, Vandoliers. Their whole set was bursting with energy and was a huge delight to watch. Audience members took it upon themselves to give them their best reactions they had to give.
Next up was Less Than Jake, performing their amazing mix of ska punk music unlike any other! The crowd went into a frenzy of excitement with the music blasting from the speakers as trombonist Buddy Schuab ran laps around the stage throughout their set. The band ended the night by saying happy birthday to a fan at the barrier and asked if the crowd was excited for Bowling for Soup, which everyone cheered in agreement. The band then left, waving as they did.
We were quickly greeted by an announcer. Between each act, he informed the crowd of when the next artist would be playing, followed by playing some of everyone’s favorite tunes. After getting the crowd warmed up, an extra 5 minutes of anticipation was added. A large countdown timer for the headliners was displayed on the screen with a background of the audience.
After the “long” wait, the lights dimmed and headliners, Bowling for Soup, took the stage. The band kicked their set off with one of my favorites, “Emily!” The audience erupted with the most enthusiastic applause I have ever seen! After ending the song, the band took some time to talk to the audience and make some classic penis jokes before projecting graphics of bananas onto the screen behind them. They then played their song “My Wena,” another crowd favorite. The band continued the night playing songs that kept the audience going and definitely left quite the impression on their Manchester fan base. I believe the crowd absolutely left a positive impact on them too, showing them our true gig spirit. There is no doubt they will return to the city soon!
